busyness

The Death of Stillness
The Price We Pay For Losing Our Private Peace
by Richard Mahler

This is a good column but it leaves out one thing. It does not discuss the phenomenon of people who wear and state their "busyness" as a badge of honor. These people are not even that busy, but they deliberately fill their schedules (and empty lives) and discuss their busyness in order to let other people know how busy they are. How's it going? Busy, busy, busy!

time

Out of Time
by Jonathan Rowe
from yes! magazine

A big-ticket “Alpha Mom,” profiled in New York magazine, said that her baby was something she and her husband “really dedicated time in our schedules for.”

She said this with pride, as though she had identified a hot strategic opportunity. The schedule rules, and kids get fitted to it. Chances are her child, like others, soon will become hyper-scheduled as well. Kids today are getting day planners at age six. Their days consist of a sequence of lessons and supervised sports, all governed by the clock. Unstructured outdoor play has dropped by 50 percent since the late 1970s. (A letter-writer to New York suggested that Alpha Mom start to set aside money for the psychiatry bills that are coming.)

work weeks

I recently ran across an article where once again the British were ridiculing the French for their idle ways. If you ask me, we could all learn a lot from the French. They are the ones who have it right. The British, (and even more so we Americans), are the ones to be pitied in this regard. A "month-long lunch" in August, "11 weeks' holiday a year", and a 35-hour work week sound good to me! Actually, they are sensible, healthy, productive, and progressive ideas.

Viva La France!!

France made a major mistake earlier this year though by weakening its 35-hour work week and allowing private employers to negotiate a 39-hour work week. They have an unemployment "problem". The way to solve that is with a SHORTER work week.

Americans seem to be killing ourselves these days. We are working more hours than ever before in our history, and for what? -Bigger houses, more garages, bigger cars, more toys, and better schools than our neighbors. People spend more time shopping than they do with their kids! It is time for us to snap out of it. We should be insisting on a four day, 30 hour work week and at least 5 weeks vacation time. Most people are willing to give up some of their income for more time. We would actually become more productive and much happier. For some interesting statistics on the American journey on "The Road to Nowhere", check out this article from Mother Jones.

Three of the more interesting statistics from the Mother Jones article are these:

Percentage of their time in office that Presidents Johnson, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G. W. Bush spent on vacation, respectively: 26, 5, 12, 10, 5, 17

Percentage of time Bush spent on vacation before 9/11: 42

Ratio of time Bush took to return from vacationing on his ranch to “save” Terri Schiavo to the time he took to make a statement from Crawford after the Asian tsunami struck: 1 to 12

Clinton was the obvious workaholic. In the end, this is the trait that possibly did him in. Maybe if he would have been tending to his personal life he would not have noticed Monica.

Bush's vacation time is one thing I give him credit for. (He is one President who should take MORE vacations!) Seriously though, it would be nice if our President was the national "vacationer-in-chief". Bush's problem is not that he does not work too hard, it is that he hires crooks, liars, buffoons, incompetents, cronies, zealouts, and fascists to work for him.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery said that

"The machine does not isolate man from great problems but plunges him more deeply into them."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

buy nothing sunday

This week there was an awesome letter to the editor in the paper.

Way to go Eleanore! I was so heartened by her letter:

Sunday should be a family day

GREEN BAY — In past years, that special day — Sunday — was a time when stores were closed and gas stations were not open 24 hours. The family had a chance to be together to share their thoughts and meals.

Why did it quit?

Perhaps some very special and strong businessman would show the way back and take a stand and say: We are closed on Sunday so the family can be reunited.

Yes, some sales might be lost; however, they themselves would have a day off.

Also, TV stations could put on some good, clean movies so parents and children could watch together, especially if the language is not so foul.

Please, let's try to make things better for all.

Eleanore E. Vandermoss

The best example of how to spend a Sunday comes from God Himself. He rested. I really don't think He wanted us to spend it in church though. But, if that is your thing, what a better day to be there than a Sunday! We Catholics have a little trick though. We can go to church on Saturday to get out of going on Sunday. If I went to church, I would go on Saturday.

Eleanore asks "Why did it quit?". I can tell her why. There was a deliberate attempt by the merchants to get one more day of working and shopping out of us. When stores and businesses first started opening on Sundays many people were appalled.

It is time to take Sunday back from the peddlers. It should be a day for the idlers, meditators, hunters, visiting popper-inners, hikers, nappers, fishermen, painters, hangover nursers, readers, canoeists, and all of the other people who have more meaningful things to do than shop. It should be a day to spend in bed, in the woods, on the river, and with each other. Every Sunday should become "BUY NOTHING SUNDAY".

I do disagree with Eleanore about one thing. The last thing we need is more "good, clean movies so parents and children could watch together". The more "foul" language the better!!

Sunday drives should be banned though. There is nothing worse than people out for a Sunday drive.

eddy out,
rich